Sunday, February 8, 2009

Switzerland to make decision on free movement

In Switzerland people will go to the voting booths to make a decision on whether to allow EU citizens to enter the Swiss labour market in the future or not. 

As a result of a negative outcome (i.e. the majority of the voters say "no") of the vote it will be hard for non-Swiss workers to find a job in Switzerland and even crossing the Swiss borders would take more paperwork. 

Even though Switzerland is not part of the 27-nation bloc it was among those countries who introduced the free movement of labour. Since its introduction the number of people entered the Swiss labour market has reached one million. 

A not-favoured outcome can put Switzerland's relationship with the EU at risk as the Swiss have always been tied to the European economic and monetary union politically as well as economically. 

Swiss officials say it is a matter of life now. Cheap labour is always favoured, however, in the period of a recession they cannot allow to employ foreign workers as it can result in the loss of jobs for many Swiss citizens. 

They claim that low-paid workers did good when the country enjoyed an economic boom, but it was a long time ago. 

Brussels has already warned Switzerland about the poll. According to BBC the Swiss are very well aware of the fact that "one in every two Swiss francs is earned through trade with the EU, and one in every three Swiss jobs depends on that trade." 

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